Dr. Prajval Shastri
| Grant Category: | Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Scholar |
| Field of Specialization: | Science & Technology (Astrophysics) |
| Name: | Dr. Prajval Shastri |
| Official Address and Designation: | Associate Professor Indian Institute of Astrophysics Bengaluru Karnataka |
| E-mail: | pshastri@iiap.res.in |
| Duration of Grant: | Eight months |
| Project Title: | Active Galaxies: Radio-loudness and the Fanaroff-Riley Divide |
| Abstract of Project : | |
| Galaxies often host very massive black holes in their centers which accrete matter whenever available in their close neighborhood to produce radiation that could be as much or more than the total light from all the stars in the galaxy. These 'active' galaxies are visible through the enormous power that they emit at all wavelengths (radio to gamma rays) and bipolar outflows from the nuclei, which are sometimes seen to acquire bulk speeds very close to the speed of light. My Fulbright project will explore the parameter space of these objects in order to explain the wide range of properties seen. Given the correlation between the mass of the galaxy and that of the central black hole, which implies that the black hole and galaxy grow hand in hand, the properties of active galaxies acquire a new significance for the larger question of galaxy growth. | |
| Academic Background : | |||
| Ph.D. | Astrophysics | Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai | 1989 |
| MSc | Physics | IIT Bombay | 1979 |
| BSc | Physics Chemistry, Math | St Agnes College, Mangalore | 1977 |
| Professional Background : | |||
| Tenured Faculty | Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore | 1995-till date | |
| Visiting Scientist | Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr for Astrophys. | 1994-1995 | |
| Post-doctoral Fellow | University of California, Berkeley, USA | 1992-1994 | |
| Post-doctoral Fellow | University of Texas, Austin. USA | 1990-1992 | |
